Apparatus and method for loading seals



Dec. 12, 1967 F KNElDL 5 AL 3,357,343

APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR LOADING SEALS Filed Aug.

/5 7 FIG. 7

FIG. 4.

INVENTORS FRANZ A. KNEIDL ROGER D. PARKSR,

F/GS

ATTORNEYS United States Patent Office 3,357,343 Patented Dec. 12, 1967 3,357,343 APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR LOADING SEALS Franz A. Kneidl, Milford, and Roger D. Park, Sr., Vest Hartford, Conn., assignors to The Stanley Works, New Britain, Conn, a corporation of Connecticut Filed Aug. 5, 1965, Ser. No. 477,426 6 Claims. (Cl. 100-2) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Apparatus comprising a seal magazine having an elongated chute of generally U-shaped cross section providing an open side for partial reception of an elongated stack of nested seals, a permanent magnet strip mounted within the magazine to extend longitudinally of the chute, and an elongated portable holder for seals having an elongated permanent magnet engageable with a seal stack for manual manipulation into and out of engagement with the permanent magnet strip of the magazine. The method of this invention comprises the steps of forming a clip of nested seals in stacked formation, magnetically retaining and transferring the seals with a portable carrier in a stack to a magazine station, magnetically holding the seals at the magazine station for successively feeding the same for sealing and removing the portable carrier from the seal stack.

This invention relates to strapping machines and particularly concerns improvements in loading such machines with seals.

A primary object of the present invention is to provide an improved apparatus and method for quick and easy loading of seals in a strapping machine.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved seal magazine for a strapping machine or the like which provides for expedient removal of the seals for rapidly clearing the machine.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an improved seal magazine for retaining fasteners in a proper feed position in a strapping machine and for guiding fasteners to a selected discharge position in the seal magazine.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a seal magazine of the type referred to which is easily incorporated into existing strapping machines and which has a relatively simple but rugged construction that will provide reliable service over long periods of repeated use.

Other objects will be in part obvious and in part pointed out more in detail hereinafter.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combination of elements and arrangements of parts which will be exemplified in the construction hereafter set forth and the scope of the application which will be indicated in the appended claims.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a side view, partly in section and partly broken away, showing in full lines a loaded seal magazine of the present invention installed in a strapping FIG. 5 is a section view taken along line 5-5 of FIG 4;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged transverse view, partly in section and partly broken away, of the portable holder in operative association with the seal magazine and showing an intermediate step of the method of the present invention; and

FIG. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary view, similar to that of FIG. 6, illustrating another step of the method of the present invention.

Referring in detail to the drawing, a preferred embodiment of an elongated seal magazine 10 incorporated in the present invention is illustrated as being secured in an upstanding position on a tool or machine 12 shown in phantom in FIG. 1 of the type adapted in a well-known manner for sealing overlapping portions of a loop of strap (not shown). The elongated seal magazine 10 has a housing 13 of generally U-shaped cross section (FIG. 6) with a longitudinally extending back wall 14 and a pair of side walls 16 and 18 extending in spaced opposed parallel relation from opposite side edges of the back wall 14 to provide a unitary structure. The housing 13 is preferably formed of a suitable nonmagnetic material and is shown as having an open upper end.

To hold a plurality of fasteners in a proper feed position in the seal magazine 10 and to additionally assist in guiding the fasteners to the lower, discharge end (not shown) of the seal magazine, a strip 20 .of permanent magnetic material is suitably supported on the inside surface of the back wall 14 of the housing 13 to extend between the side walls 16, 18 throughout the length of the housing. The side walls 16, 18 and the magnetic strip 20 thus collectively define an elongated feed chute of generally rectangular cross section having an opening along one side of the seal magazine to receive and to partially enclose a uniform stack of fastening seals 22 of the type illustrated in FIG. 3. The seals 22 are shown to be of conventional construction and are formed of a suitable magnetic material, such as sheet steel, so as to be held within the feed chute of the seal magazine 10 due to the magnetic attraction to the Strip 20.

With one side of the seal stack bottomed against the magnetic strip 20 within the feed chute of the seal magazine, the opposite side of the stack preferably projects from the housing 13 a short distance beyond the front edges 24 and 26 of the side walls 16 and 18. In this respect the front edges 24 and 26 of the side walls 16 and 18 are shown to lie in a common plane that is parallel to and spaced inwardly from the exposed face of the seal stack. 7

As the lowermost seal in the stack is fed into the machine 12 during the operation of the machine, the remaining seals 22 in the stack are moved downwardly along the face of the magnetic strip 20 by any suitable means such as the weighted slide 28 shown positioned within the feed chute of the seal magazine 10 on top of the seal stack. The slide 28 is provided with a rib (not shown) received in a longitudinally extending guide slot 30. The guide slot 30 is shown (FIG. 6) as being formed on the inside surface of the side wall 16 to retain the slide 28 in position upon the seal stack and to guide the slide 28 down the feed chute of the magazine.

For handling and transferring the seals 22, a portable holder 32 of nonmagnetic material is provided. More specifically, the holder 32 comprises an elongated channel having a web 34 and a pair of laterally spaced side flanges 36 and 38. Attached by any suitable means on the web 34 is a strip 40 or" permanent magnetic material, preferably of greater magnetic holding power than the permanent magnet strip 20 of the seal magazine 10. The strip 40 extends substantially across the interior surface of the web 34 and between the longitudinal ends of the holder 32. The holder 32 preferably has an end wall 42 at each end thereof which extends between the side flanges 36, 38 to form with the side flanges and the strip 40 an open box-like structure. A handle 44 is illustrated as being secured intermediate the ends of the holder 32 on the back side of the web 34 for the purpose of manual manipulation of the holder.

To load the seal magazine 10, a plurality of, seals 22 are initially received in a clip bound by a cord 46 or the like extending through a central aperture in each seal 22 in a conventional manner. The clips are placed in alignment with one another in a shallow stacking tray 48 suitably dimensioned so that one side of each clip projects above the top of the tray (FIG. 5 The cord 46 may thereafter he removed from each clip to present a loose but neatly nested stack of seals in the tray 48.

The portable holder 32 is then positioned to place the strip 40 in contact with the exposed side of the seal stack projecting above the. tray 48, and the holder 32, and the seals 22 magnetically retained thereby, are manually transferred to the magazine 10. The seals are positioned in the feed chute with the opposite side of the seal stack bottomed against the permanent magnet strip 2%) (FIG. 6). The holder 32 is then removed by a sideways pivotal movement as shown in FIG. 7 with the side flange 36 of the holder engaging the front edge 24 of the side wall 16 to provide a fulcrum for the holder 32. The holder 32 is thus easily peeled off the stack of seals 22 which are retained in the seal magazine. by means of the strip 20. The slide 28 is thereafter installed in the chute through the upper open end of the chute and placed on top of the seal stack.

If desired, the sealmagazine 10 may be cleared of any remaining seals by first removing the slide 28 from the chute and then repositioning the portable holder 32 onto the seal stack. Consequently, with the magnetic holding power of the strip 40 being greater than that of the magnetic strip 20, the holder 32 may be merely withdrawn from the magazine 10to remove the seals 22 in a neat stack to quickly clear the seal magazine 10.

Thus, the present invention provides an apparatus and method particularly suited to load seals in a magazine station of a strapping machine and to retain the seals in a stack so as to quickly and easily condition the machine for operation. Finally, the seal magazine of the present invention may be readily incorporated into existing strapping machines for expediting the loading and clearing of seals.

As will be apparent to persons skilled in the art, various modifications and adaptations of the structure abovedescribed will become readily apparent without departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, the scope of which is defined in the appended claims.

We claim:

1. Apparatus for loading and unloading seals of magnetic material into a strapping tool comprising an elongated seal magazine mounted in operative association with the tool for holding an elongated stack of nested seals for successively feeding the seals for sealing, said magazine having an elongated housing of U-shaped cross section with a back Wall and a pair of side Walls extending laterally therefrom, and a longitudinally extending permanent magnet strip supported on the inside surface of the back wall, the permanent magnet strip and the side walls of the housing defining a feed chute with an open side for partial reception of an elongated stack of nested seals with one sideof the seal stack bottomed against the magnetic strip and the opposite side of the seal stack projecting laterally outwardly of the housing side walls, and an elongated manually manipulatable portable holder for the seals having an elongated permanent magnet engageable with said opposite side of the seal stack for manual manipulation of theelongated stack into and out of engagement with the permanent'magnet strip of the magazine.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 whereinthe permanent magnet of the holder has greater holding power than the permanent magnet strip of the magazine so that the seal stack may be cleared from the magazine by engagement of the permanent magnet of the holder with said opposite side of the seal stack and by subsequent lateral withdrawal of the holder from the magazine with the seal stack magnetically retained thereon.

3. A method of loading a strapping tool with a stack of nested seals and of retaining the stack of seals at a magazine station on the strapping tool for successively feeding the seals for sealing comprising the steps of forming a clip of nested seals to provide a stack of seals for the strapping tool, magnetically retaining the seals in a stack and While so magnetically retained transferring the stack to the magazine station of the strapping tool, magnetically holding the seals at the magazine station in a stack for successive feeding of the seals for sealing, and terminating the magnetic retention of the seal stack after the stack of seals is magnetically held at the magazine station.

4. A method of loading a strapping tool with a stack of seals of magnetic material and of retainingthe stack of seals at a magazine station on the strapping tool for successively feeding the seals for sealing comprising the steps of providing a manually manipulatable holder having an elongated permanent magnet, stacking the seals into an elongated seal stack, magnetically engaging the seal stack with the portable holder, manually transferring the seal stack with the holder to the magazine station of the strapping machine, and retaining the seals at the magazine station for successive feeding of the seals for sealing.

5. A method of loading a strapping tool with an elongated stack of nested seals and of retaining the elongated stack of seals at a magazine station on the strapping tool for successive feeding of the seals for sealing comprising the steps of providing an elongated magnetic seal magazine at the magazine station having a generally U-shaped cross section forming a chute for retaining the stack of seals at the magazine station and with an elongated opening in one side thereof for laterally receiving the stack of nested seals therein, providing an elongated clip of nested seals to form an elongated stack thereof, providing a portable manually manipulatable elongated permanent magnet carrier having a length at least as long as the stack of seals, magnetically engaging a side of the stack of seals with the magnet of the portable carrier and manually placing the stack of seals with the carrier into the chute for magnetic retention of the stack therein. and removing the portable carrier from the seal stack with the seal stack retained within the chute.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the removing step comprises the steps of laterally pivoting the portable carrier off the stack of seals through engagement of an edge of the portable carrier with an edge of the magazine to provide a fulcrum for peeling the permanent magnet carrier from the stack and thereby break the magnetic attraction therebetween.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 361,248 4/1887 Winton 248-206 X 575,679 1/1897 Hussey.

1,836,147 12/1931 Wright 140-934 2,707,429 5/1955 Leslie et al 30 X 2,723,875 11/1955 Russell 294-65.5 2,731,663 1/1956 Thompson.

3,077,696 2/1963 Barnett et al. 46-241 X 3,126,686 3/1964 Kobylanski et al.

3,261,481 7/1966 Laverty 29465.5 X

3,307,716 3/1967 Ross 29465.5 X

LOUIS O. MAASSEL, Primary Examiner. 

3. A METHOD OF LOADING A STRAPPING TOOL WITH A STACK OF NESTED SEALS AND OF RETAINING THE STACK OF SEALS AT A MAGAZINE STATION ON THE STRAPPING TOOL FOR SUCCESSIVELY FEEDING THE SEALS FOR SEALING COMPRISING THE STEPS OF FORMING A CLIP OF NESTED SEALS TO PROVIDE A STACK OF SEALS FOR THE STRAPPING TOOL, MANETICALLY RETAING THE SEAL IN A STACK AND WHILE SO MAGNETICALLY RETAINED TRANSFERRING THE STACK TO THE MAGAZINE STATION OF THE STRAPPING TOOL, MAGNETICALLY HOLDING THE SEALS OF THE MAGAZINE STATION IN A STACK FOR SUCCESSIVE FEEDING TO THE SEALS FOR SEALING, AND TERMINATING THE MAGNETIC RETENTION OF THE SEAL STACK AFTER THE STACK OF SEALS IN MAGNETICALLY HELD AT THE MAGAZINE STATION. 